The present invention relates to musical instruments and methods of producing sounds. More specifically, the invention relates to techniques for transforming sounds (e.g., vocal sounds) into musical notes in accordance with musical scales that are manually selected in real-time.
The computer revolution has brought a plethora of new technologies to the world of music. Some of these new technologies allow musicians to effortlessly produce precise tones and pitches. These advances allow musicians to focus on music, rather than on the mechanics of producing a specific sound.
For example, conventional electronic keyboards provide musicians with an almost infinite number of musical combinations at their fingertips. Musicians are able to select the specific sounds that will be generated when the keys on the keyboard are depressed including different musical instruments, voices, sound effects, and the like. Additionally, musicians are able to specify one or more rhythms or accompanying scores for the music. These are just a few examples of the wide range of special effects that are available on conventional electronic keyboards.
The notes generated by an electric keyboard are generally initiated by depressing the keys. However, there are other electronic musical instruments that allow musicians to generate notes based on vocal sounds. For example, the xe2x80x9cVocalizer 1000xe2x80x9d from Breakaway Music Systems in San Mateo, Calif. takes voice input and converts the vocal sounds to Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) signals or digital codes. The Vocalizer 1000 applies a xe2x80x9clock-to-scalexe2x80x9d function to the signals generated so that they are confined to being on the scales of a predesignated song pattern that is selected by the musician before beginning the input of the vocal sounds. However, at least one shortcoming of conventional electronic musical instruments such as the Vocalizer 1000 is that the musician is not afforded the capability of selecting the desired scales in real-time.
It would be desirable to have an electronic musical instrument that receives vocal sound input from a musician and produces musical notes that are constrained to a scale that is selected by the musician in real-time. It would also be desirable to provide an electronic musical instrument that is sensitive not just to the pitch of the vocal sound input, but also the volume and tonal qualities of the musician""s voice so this information can be utilized to shape the notes that are output. Additionally, it would be desirable to have an electronic musical instrument that can xe2x80x9clistenxe2x80x9d to ambient sounds or music in order to identify a dominant rhythm and to use this information to shape temporal aspects of the musical output.
The present invention provides musical instruments that generate notes according to sounds that are input and musical scales that are selected in real-time. For example, vocal sounds from a user can be converted to a digital signal that is then received by digital signal processing circuitry. The circuitry can receive input that specifies a scale to which generated notes should be constrained. The desired scales can be selected by a user at any time (e.g., during a song in real-time). Additionally, the circuitry can analyze aspects of the vocal sounds such as volume or tonal qualities to shape the notes that are output. The circuitry can also receive ambient sound signals that can be analyzed in order to identify a rhythm so that the notes can be modified in accordance with this rhythm. Accordingly, the invention allows users to use technology to generate the notes, but allows the user to utilize his or her own voice or vocal sounds to personalize the generated notes similar to playing a traditional musical instrument. Some specific embodiments of the invention are described below.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a musical instrument that is directed by sounds from a user. A transducer receives a series of sounds from the user and converts the sounds to electric signals. The instrument includes multiple switches that allow the user to sequentially select musical scales. A processor receives the electric signals from the transducer and modifies the electric signals to represent notes on the currently selected musical scale from the switches. The processor can also set the volume of the notes in the electric signals to be proportional to the volume of the sounds. Additionally, the processor can receive other electric signals corresponding to ambient sounds and identify a rhythm in these electric signals so that the onset and/or offset of the notes can be set in accordance with rhythm that is identified in the ambient sounds. In a preferred embodiment, the sounds from the user are vocal sounds.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of producing sounds according to sounds from a user. Electric signals corresponding to a series of sounds are received from the user. Also, input is received from the user that sequentially selects musical scales. The electric signals are modified to correspond to notes on the currently selected musical scale that is closest in pitch. In a preferred embodiment, the electric signals are MIDI signals.